Today, President Obama will deliver his first official State of the Union (SOTU) address. My prediction is that his speech will be mostly devoted to two major issues of domestic policy: health reform and economic growth - including poverty and unemployment. Of course, there will be the mandatory paragraphs about fighting terrorism and bringing terrorists and their enablers to justice (and, presumably, the speech will also attempt to explain where he's going with his Afghanistan policy). But I venture to guess that the major focus will be on the economic woes afflicting this country. High unemployment has taken an especially tough toll on men from all sectors of society. Its terrible impact is felt not only in the financial aspects of life, but in the family, social and communal realms as well. And the best way to lower unemployment and create job growth is a combination of conservative policies that encourage business expansion and liberal policies that emphasize generous retraining programs and government spending.
In
previous articles, I have taken the liberty (or, perhaps, hutzpa) of suggesting certain themes or particular phrases for inclusion in the President's speech. Following this tradition, I will suggest a quote for the President's SOTU speech when he talks about the issues of welfare, government help, job creation, and economic growth. Robert F. Kennedy expressed very eloquently the danger of putting too much emphasis on welfare, and the reasons why government should focus on job creation, creating a sense of individual independence and personal effort. According to philosopher Michael Sandel, Kennedy believed that the solution to poverty was not a guaranteed income paid by the government, but -
dignified employment at decent pay, the kind of employment that lets a man say to his community, to his family, to his country, and, most important, to himself: 'I helped build this country, I am a participant in its great public ventures. I am a man.'
